Cape Town, South Africa, 23 Feb

[tonybower]

Wow!! Thanks so much! Not sure how you do it but am extremely grateful!

[fab]

thank you thomas

[CelineTheBest5]

Thanks!!

[CelineAndRene]

yes thanks

[celinevegas]

Thanks Thomas!

You are the Best!

[kathy4]

is there a show tonight? if so who went and is it o ver already?

[Koolan]

at the last note on TSMGO. After all these years, she still has it. This is shaping up to be one hell of a show.

 

Thanks a million Jane, we are so spoiled, and Thomas, our exclusive HQ supplier.

[scorp82]

is there a show tonight? if so who went and is it o ver already?

 

 

Yes, there was a show tonight, February 27, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Given that it is already 3 or 4 am in South Africa, the show must have been over hours ago.

 

I know Jane did not attend that show. Other than that, I do not know if anyone else if the forum went or not.

[mike_z]

OMG her voice on ABM is even better than 10 years ago!

 

I hope she keeps that shape for the DVD!!!

[Love,]

No, she was singing along a backing track of RC....

:sofunny:

Yeah... and RC was just great on stage! Singing this song with full woMAN power, and tossing his long hair left to right, and right to left! And he really nailed the last note, growling so loudly, you could hear the rumbling of 10,000 scared wilderbeasts running in the distance... :giggle:

[CelineFanInSoCal]

http://img223.imagevenue.com/loc23/th_53194_79957192_10_122_23lo.jpg

[Love,]

Second part of ABM

 

abm 23 feb.mp4 - 32.28MB

 

Before someone asks: I never recorded the first half

 

Thank you, darling! :)

 

 

P.S. I just wish those annoying tone-deaf fans would have been quiet during this performance! LOL

 

Edited February 28, 2008 at 03:09 AM by Love,

[scorp82]

No, she was singing along a backing track of RC....

:sofunny:

Yeah... and RC was just great on stage! Singing this song with full woMAN power, and tossing his long hair left to right, and right to left! And he really nailed the last note, growling so loudly, you could hear the rumbling of 10,000 scared wilderbeasts running in the distance... :giggle:

 

 

RC has such a bright future ahead of him... Imagine being 7 years old and having such a powerful voice! Celine must feel so proud of him!

 

 

LOL!

[JP]

Thanks for the HQ Thomas, you rock!

[maxceline]

thanks thomass..... they are wonderful HQ pics!!

[AlberDR2]

Thanks a lot Jane and Thomas, great videos and nice pics

[pol]

Thanks for those HQ photos! Celine looks just fantastic on them!!!!!!

[Cheerfuljane]

Jane, you are truly amazing!

 

I can imagine you feel a bit shy about recording when you are at the front row, right in front of Céline. As far as I am concerned, I think you should forget about us for just one show... You have done so much for all of us here! I think you deserve to have a concert just for you, without having to think about recordings of sms or pictures. Just the show, Céline and Jane. I am sure everyone here will agree and if not: their problem. My advise is to make some memories for yourself and enjoy the show for more than 100%. How many times can you be on front row? Its so special and it should feel special as well. Dont think about anything else but enjoying! So no worries about us, HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!

 

 

 

Tomorrow is the last one for me so I might just do that

[LD1977]

Have a wonderful last show Jane, and again, ENJOYYYYYY!

[Bellamy]

 

Tomorrow is the last one for me so I might just do that

Your last one in SA? I think you still have many more in other countries.

[roubaix]

Thanks for these great posts everyone!

 

[maxceline]

TC from Cape town???????

 

[JP]

TC from Cape town???????

 

Thanks, that's great!! Seems from Port Elizabeth with all the wind in the camera LOL

Edited February 29, 2008 at 05:34 PM by JP

[CSCfan]

In South Africa, Celine is queen

 

Diva launches world tour with shows in Johannesburg, Cape Town

 

Maurice Podbrey, Canwest News Service

Published: Friday, February 29, 2008

 

CAPE TOWN -- South Africa's ubiquitous mini-bus taxi drivers may not rate on the tourist brochure with the Big Five of the animal kingdom, but they certainly rate on the highways. These are the modern-day pirates few visitors (or white South Africans) get to meet. They drive with scant attention to traffic lanes and terrify pedestrians and drivers alike.

 

I'm in one of them, en route to Khayalitsha, Cape Town's largest black township with its plentiful share of shanty town constructs, to bring a play by a young black playwright about youth gangs and police corruption to school audiences.

 

I'm also crushed against 13 weary fellow passengers. The fare is usually passed collectively from the back row to the front. Two rands are missing from someone's change and a string of Xhosa curses and English obscenities add heat to an already sweltering interior.

 

Shadrack, the driver, doesn't bother turning around to investigate the cause of the commotion. Instead, he pulls a CD out of the grimy console and pops it into the sound system. "Babybabybaby if you want me like thi-i-i-is. And if you need me like tha-a-at It's so hard to belie-e-e-eve, but it's all coming back to me."

 

The notes drown out the altercation and the vehicle's speakers shudder from the volume.

 

I lean forward and tap him on the shoulder. "That's Celine Dion -- she's from Canada. I used to live there," I tell him. He grins at me. "Serious? Celine, she is sharp; she and Whitney." He cranks the volume up still further a few notches, to maximum pitch. "Ja. Celine Dion is right up there."

 

I tell him the price range for Dion's show in Johannesburg was from 700 to as much as 6,000 rand, about $100 to $800. He tells me the average monthly salary of most of the people on the bus is about 1,500 rand.

 

"Don't you like her new releases better than this old stuff?" I ask. "Taking Chances?" Shadrack grimaces. "No way. Celine shouldn't try to sing rock. It doesn't work; it does not suit her. I prefer her the way she was before: Falling Into You is still my favourite."

 

Ms. Dion is on her way, kicking off her massive international tour in South Africa, no less. This is a big deal for a country happy to get recognition for things other than HIV/Aids.

 

Ms. Dion's cult status here has transcended many of the racial and cultural prejudices that cause black South Africans to disdain the likes of Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne and venture no further than rap and hip-hop.

 

While Celine does not command the same adulation as, say, Beyonce Knowles or local icons such as Mafikizolo and Freshlyground, she is, remarkably, listened to across the spectrum: from black students to white housewives, businessmen, and the gay community, who have come to regard her as the replacement for Barbra Streisand and Gloria Gaynor.

 

The reworked, house version of My Heart Will Go On has become an anthem at both gay and straight clubs, and revellers of all ages -- from teenyboppers to middle-aged church groups -- wait for the familiar opening bars of Because You Loved Me to snog into partners' necks.

 

The road to Khayalitsha is also the road to the Vergelegen Wine Estate at Somerset West, where two open-air concerts will be staged on successive nights. It's a small town near the more famous Stellenbosch and some 10 km along the A2, the road that leads past the refashioned international airport, the endless and grotesque array of "informal settlements" and -- eventually -- into the ravishing beauty of the Garden Route. This is a land of contrasts.

 

But first the downtown press conference. Diaphanous and elegant, Ms. Dion easily commands our attention. She's full of heartfelt praise and excitement at being here and, of course, her meeting with Mandela has been the highlight so far. He, apparently, made much of her seven-year-old son and Dion, in return, came up with something poetical for him:

 

"I know you have the soul of a child

 

The heart of a mother

 

The strength of a man."

 

Her simple beginnings in the Quebec hinterland, her 14 siblings, and her mother's presence here on tour with her son and husband are the emotional anchors of her life. And, certainly, from as far back as she can remember, her singing.

 

The night of the concert. Threatening clouds and blustering winds gave way in an instant to almost perfect skies. Sadly, the show turned out to be more problematic for me and my small party. A logistical nightmare descended on traffic, parking, seating and food arrangements and we, with our gold invitation cards held tightly in our sweaty palms, and perched on small bales of hay, were forced to view the proceedings with the help of the big screen. Not the visceral experience we had hoped for and too many thoughts left frustratingly unresolved.

 

The next day's papers are divided between the disgruntled who probably shared our hay bales and those lucky enough to be front and centre and able to surrender themselves to the Celine magic. To be on the outside of a Lourdes pilgrimage must be an equally lonely and envy-making place. We could see them, cheering and clapping and rising to their feet, we just couldn't get there.

 

News reports say the second concert went like clock-work.

 

Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel did themselves and us a great favour. Not only did they immerse themselves in the local music scene, but they collaborated with artists here to their mutual benefit. African music is a rich, challenging and transcending wellspring to the world. If only Celine Dion would return one day, give herself the time to pursue the same journey now, that's a gift to herself, Mandela and us that would make a difference.

[plume]

thanks a lot for the wonderfull pics

[kathyc25]

Thomas thank you so much for the HQ pictures! and Thanks again Jane!

[Elaine]

I'm really really happy for you Jane, Shirley and Nate!!! Thank you so much for all the bootlegs and pics!!!! They're simply amazing!! They make me wanna go and see her again!!

 

Thank you for being so kind! I really luv you!!!!!!!

[reggi]

A big thanks to everyone for all their hard work. Sounds like ya'll had a blast. I can't what till Birmingham,Al. Hope she has something left. Thanks again for the "sample" concert.

[Cheerfuljane]

Sound Check

"The Show Must Go On"

 

sound check tsmgo.mp4 - 20.56MB

 

You can't see the stage very clearly coz we were standing outside the venue

The little black dot is Celine walking up and down the stage

[maxceline]

wow jane... the only word i can say right now